The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Friday that Proposal 2, an amendment to the Michigan Constitution banning affirmative action in public employment, public education and state contracting, is unconstitutional. The court ruled that this unduly burdened minorities by abusing a political process where minorities were …

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday dismissed a case brought by Washington state, South Carolina and other local governments challenging the Depart of Energy (DOE) failure to make a permanent nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The plaintiffs, responsible for the temporary …

The Ivory Coast issued international arrest warrants Friday for aides of former president Laurent Gbagbo. The prosecutor's office in the capital Abidjan issued the warrants, most notably for Charles Ble Goude, the leader of Gbagbo's youth militia, accusing him of inciting ethnic violence and attacks against UN workers. Other members of Gbagbo's government also had …

US Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano on Friday criticized other nations for not advancing and embracing new technology, thus leaving themselves open to attacks from cyber-criminals. At an international security conference in Vienna, Napolitano called for an international legal framework to defend and prosecute threats to cyber security. She declined to address …

Officials from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) appealed to Texas Governor Rick Perry Friday to stop the execution of Mexican national Humberto Leal Garcia, alleging he did not receive a fair trial. When Leal Garcia was arrested for the rape and murder of …

UN Office of the Commissioner on Human Rights Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Cephas Lumina, warned Greece that implementation of the latest batch of austerity measures to solve its economic crisis could result in serious violations of basic human rights, Lumina said in a statement released Friday. The Greek Parliament …

A Shchyolkovo town court ruled Thursday that the main texts of Scientology, including What Is Scientology?, are "calls to extremist activity" and placed them on the Federal List of Extremist Materials, effectively banning them in Russia. The judge ruled, based on expert testimony, that materials by L Ron Hubbard "aimed at creating …

A judge for the US District Court for the District of South Dakota issued a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking a South Dakota abortion regulation requiring a 72-hour waiting period. Judge Karen Shreier ruled that the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota (ACLUSD) and Planned Parenthood Federation of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South …

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday that the recent wave of Middle East and North African protests and revolutions showed a basic need for human rights. Pillay recounted the efforts of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in these conflict areas: fact finding missions in Libya, Ivory Coast …